Forever Yours
by sofia313
Summary: He was a monster, she was a freak of nature. He only planned to use her, he couldn't imagine that she might find her way into his dead heart. He never wanted to admit that even a monster can be lonely sometimes. Slow updates
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Normandy, France, 1510

Kol dropped the body of a pretty wench on the floor, she had tasted delicious. There were bodies lying around the tavern, he had felt like having some fun tonight. He had blood all over his face and shirt, all he felt was euphoria. Carelessly he picked up a stein of ale and sat on the nearest chair. What a night. The tavern was dead quiet now; the only sound left was the wind howling outside. He leaned back on his seat and smiled, the predator in him was purring with delight.

That was what he was, what they all were, deadly predators, no matter what his brother thought. What predator would or should feel sympathy for its prey. Fortunately he have had a good sense to leave from England few months ago, Elijah's moral sermons had been annoying as hell. Yes, Kol was the first to admit that he was wicked, but why wouldn't he be? He had been alone ever since his mother had made them what they were; no one had truly cared for him.

Nik, Elijah and Rebekah had stayed together, Finn has had Sage and their father… Well, he has been too busy hunting his own children down like animals. Kol only had himself, but that didn't matter, he didn't need… His thoughts were cut off when he heard quiet footsteps from the door. His eyebrows furrowed when he saw the sleepy little girl, she was holding a doll. Fortunately she was too sleepy to pay attention to her surroundings, she was basically half asleep.

"I thought I told you to wait in the carriage," he stated, his tone was scolding. Why hadn't the damn driver stopped her from coming here, this was no place for her?

She blinked her big eyes and yawned.

"I had a nightmale," she muttered; despite of his efforts to teach her, she hadn't learned how to say the letter R.

"Alright," Kol sighed and patted his knee. "Come here. But I want you to keep your eyes on me, do not look around you."

He looked for a handkerchief from his pocket in order to clean his face, although the girl didn't care about blood. When he looked up, the girl had stopped next to a man's body; her little hand was reaching to touch it.

"No!" Kol shouted and zoomed next to the girl, he managed to scoop her up just in time. "No, no, no," he scolded. "How many times do I have to tell you, no touching dead things unless I say so? Do you remember what happened when you touched that dead horse? We lost a perfectly good driver."

She looked guilty and bowed her head. Kol sighed; he needed to remember that she was only 4-years-old.

"It's alright, darling," he said and touched her hair. "Hey, look at me."

She blinked few times before looking up.

"Was I bad?" she asked quietly.

He smiled and shook his head.

"No, my darling, you are not bad. You are a very special girl, my girl."

Clearly his words made her happy; she smiled widely while wrapping her arms around him.

"Special…"

"That's right," he confirmed and stroked her back. "Who do you love?"

"You," she muttered sleepily and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I love you."

He smiled and tapped her head; she would no doubt be a very useful tool. Raising a child was something he had never thought he would do, but in this case he was willing to make an exception. What would be a better way to make sure that she would be completely loyal to him? Perhaps he also wanted to make sure that she was safe, but that wasn't something he had any intention to admit.

"Good girl."

She was asleep in his arms when he carried her outside, her little body felt warm and her heart was beating steadily. Despite of what she was, she was still innocent. Unlike the humans, he would have never hurt her. She truly was a special girl. His special girl.


	2. The beginning

**Thank you for the reviews, favs and alerts. I'm sorry this chapter is short; the next one is going to be longer. Warning, there's some violence in this chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

 **The beginning**

 _England, 4 years earlier_

 _The screams of agony echoed through the long hallways. Celia Farrow sat on the comfortable armchair; she was concentrated on her embroidery while her brother paced back and forth, huffing in annoyance. Patience had never been one of his virtues, but she had got used to his "temper tantrums". Sometimes her dear brother simply acted like a spoiled child._

 _"Calm down, Baldwin," she stated calmly._

 _"Why is this taking so long?" he snapped. "If the child is born dead like the others, I swear, sister…"_

 _He didn't have to finish his sentence; Celia knew that he was running out of patience. His wife had already given birth to two dead sons; Celia imagined that she was praying very hard for a healthy child this time. A healthy boy. Yes, the child needed to be a boy, there was no other option, not to Baldwin. A girl would be completely useless, he needed an heir. Celia wasn't able to conceive, so it was Baldwin's duty to continue their bloodline._

 _If only he would have chosen a better spouse. Celia had never liked her sister-in-law, Flora; she was a pathetic and weak little mouse, not worthy of her brother. The Farrows had always been very powerful witches and they weren't afraid to use the dark arts. For some reason Baldwin had married a weak witch, a healer. Celia didn't even consider her sister-in-law as a real witch; almost any physician could do what she did with her little herbs and harmless spells._

 _It must have been her appearance that had attracted Baldwin; even Celia had to admit that Flora wasn't unpleasant to look at with her petite frame, silky dark hair and big dark brown eyes, complimented by long eyelashes. She was shy and timid, an obedient wife who was afraid of her husband. She had a good reason to be afraid; Baldwin was no kind or gentle man. Celia rolled her eyes when the screams were getting louder; the little mouse truly was weak. Then it was suddenly very quiet. Baldwin stopped pacing, his whole body tensed up. They both waited until they heard the cries of the baby._

 _"A son…" Baldwin muttered and turned to look at Celia. His lips curved into a grin. "I have a son, sister!"_

 _"I am happy for you, brother," Celia replied calmly._

 _She stood up when her brother rushed into his wife's bedchamber._

 _"Flora!" he called his wife while yanking the door open._

 _Celia was right behind him, she could tell immediately that something was wrong. Flora was lying on the bed shaking and sobbing, the midwife had just placed the child in her arms._

 _"Husband…"_

 _"Show me my son, woman," Baldwin demanded._

 _Flora was looking at him pleadingly with her big tearful eyes._

 _"It…it is a girl, my lord," she managed to say, her voice was barely a whisper._

 _Baldwin froze, his face went blank._

 _"Oh dear…" Celia hummed, suppressing a smile._

 _"Husband, please," Flora sobbed. "Just look at her, she is beaut…"_

 _She could never finish her sentence; Baldwin let out a furious growl and cut her throat with his sword._

 _"You failed me for the last time!" he snarled._

 _Flora's eyes widened in shock, she dropped the baby and desperately gasped for air. The child was crying at the top of her little lungs, she was covered with her mother's blood. As soon as Flora took her last breath, Baldwin raised his sword, planning to kill the child._

 _"Brother, no!" Celia said quickly. "Do not kill it here, it would bring us misfortune. We can give it to the ancestors, you know they like offerings."_

 _Baldwin stopped and turned slowly to look at his sister._

 _"Can you take care of that?" he asked carelessly. "I do not want to touch that thing."_

 _Celia nodded._

 _"Of course, brother. I will take it to the woods; it will be dead before dawn."_

 _"Good," Baldwin snorted and headed to the door. "Get rid of it's mother too, I need to start looking for a new wife."_

 _Carelessly Celia glanced at Flora's body, good riddance. The midwife was standing in the corner; she kept her eyes on the floor. Celia knew that she would keep her mouth shut, so she simply ignored the woman and wrapped a blanket around the baby before picking it up. It wasn't that she would have cared if the baby was cold or not, she simply didn't want to get blood on her gown. The baby was screaming when she carried it outside, she shook it in order to shut it up. Killing it with her own hands wouldn't have been a problem for her, but she wasn't going to do that, it would bring her bad luck._

 _"My lady," a servant greeted her and bowed when she marched across the hallway._

 _The sun was almost set, so she grabbed a torch with her before heading to the woods. The baby was still screaming, it was really starting to annoy her. When she was far enough, she placed the child on the ground and took the blanket, leaving the child naked._

 _"Respected ancestors," she said, trying not to sound too bored. "I am humbly asking you to accept this modest offering."_

 _The baby was crying and moving it's arms and legs, but it wouldn't for long, the cold would kill it if some animal wouldn't do that first. Celia walked away without giving the matter another thought, she had more important things on mind. She needed to go and comfort her poor brother._


	3. Ella

**Chapter 2**

 **Ella**

 _England, few months earlier_

 _Kol looked carelessly outside through the window of the carriage, it was raining. He had traveled the whole day, but he had at least four days of traveling ahead of him before he would reach the coast. France sounded very good for a chance, he was sick of England. He had spent almost a year with his siblings and that was more than enough for now. Sure Nik could be a fun company from time to time and they had caused a lot of mayhem together, but in the end Kol always ended up feeling like an outsider._

 _He had spent most of his vampire life alone and it would have been a lie to say that he wasn't at all bitter because of that. Elijah had his noble cause to find salvation for poor mistreated Nik, especially after Nik had lost his chance to break the curse when the Petrova doppelganger had fled. Yes, Nik had lost a lot, but so had Kol. No one seemed to neither remember nor care about that. Sure Elijah gave him lectures, but he had never coddled him like he coddled Nik._

 _Not that Kol wanted that, but very, very deep down he was hoping for someone to genuinely care about him. He would never admit it, but sometimes he was lonely. The predator in him was all he had and it seemed that its company would have to be enough. Why wouldn't he give in to it, being a monster was something he was actually good at._

 _A long time ago he had been good at something else, but that had been taken from him without his consent. He hadn't asked to become what he was, but since he would never have his magic back, he might as well embrace the monster within him. Speaking of which, he was in the mood for a snack. The rain had stopped when they arrived to a small village; the driver informed him that the horses needed some rest, water and hay._

 _"Fine," Kol huffed. "Take care of the horses; I believe I will have a stein in the tavern."_

 _"Yes, my lord. Shall we spend the night here?"_

 _"We shall see," Kol replied and left the driver to do his job. The sun was shining now, although it would set after an hour or so. Kol stretched his arms and headed to the village square. There weren't any traders in this hour, only two miserable looking men in the stocks. Surprisingly people didn't seem to pay any attention to the men, a small group had gathered around a cage that was placed behind the stocks._

 _"Witch!" a young man mocked and threw a rotten apple in the cage. "Burn in hell, abomination!" The others followed his example; they shouted out rude names and threw rotten fruits, vegetables and even stones. Kol was planning to simply walk through the market place; the foolish humans had probably captured some harmless old woman who they called a witch because she knew a thing or two about herbs. The real witches weren't so easy to capture. He glanced at the cage while passing it and he saw something he definitely hadn't expected. The creature in the cage was very tiny, a child. She, at least he thought the child was a girl, had curled up into a fetal position on the wet ground and she was trying to cover her face. She was wearing some filthy grey rag and her dark hair was messy and tangled. Before Kol even realized what he was doing, he had marched over to the cage._

 _"What is this?" he asked._

 _Some of the people turned to look at him._

 _"She is a witch," the loud young man announced. "A demon."_

 _Kol raised his eyebrows._

 _"She is a little child."_

 _The young man shook his head._

 _"Do not let her appearance to fool you, she is evil. A murderer."_

 _"What?"_

 _Kol was staring at the trembling little creature, she was sobbing quietly. The young man nodded firmly._

 _"She killed the man who took her in and looked after her."_

 _"How did she kill him?" Kol asked disbelievingly._

 _"With black magic, I will show you. Everyone step back!"_

 _No one hesitated to obey; Kol frowned and took a step back with the others. The young man marched away and returned soon with a dead bird and a living rat trapped in a small cage. She threw them both next to the girl._

 _"Touch it, witch!" he demanded._

 _She let out a sob and kept her face buried in her arms. The man picked up a sword and pressed it against her wrist through the bars._

 _"Touch it or I will chop your hand off!"_

 _Slowly she lowered her arms; she was even younger than Kol had first thought, she couldn't be older than 2 or 3. Geez… Kol couldn't do anything except stare at her; he had never seen eyes like hers. They were big and turquoise green, the eyes of an innocent creature. There was something hypnotizing about her eyes, something that woke up some unknown part of him. Protect. For some reason that was his first thought. The young man kept shouting at her until she touched the dead bird with her shaky hand. Kol's eyes widened and everyone around him gasped when the bird was suddenly alive, it flapped its wings and lifted itself up. People were praying and making the sign of the cross when the bird flied away. The rat in the small cage on the other hand was dead. Well… This was interesting._

 _"Behold!" the young man announced. "A demon!"_

 _He spat on the ground while he spoke, everyone else followed his example._

 _"Our priest sent a word to the bishop; his representatives will arrive here tomorrow."_

 _Kol certainly knew what these "representatives" were. Witch hunters who would torture the girl before burning her. No, he had no intention to allow that. Slowly he approached the cage and kneeled next to it._

 _"Hello there," he said smiling._

 _"What are you doing?" the young man protested. "Do not go near it."_

 _Kol ignored him and concentrated on the girl. She was looking at him with her big eyes; tears were coursing down her cheeks._

 _"Could you do something for me, darling?" he asked softly. "Close those pretty eyes of yours, you do not want to see this."_

 _"Hey, what are you…"_

 _The young man was the first one to die; it took Kol only five seconds to kill all the people in the market place. The girl didn't move or make a sound when he yanked the door of the cage open and kneeled down._

 _"Come on, darling," he said and opened his arms._

 _The girl didn't hesitate, even though he had blood on his shirt. Her legs couldn't hold her, but she managed to crawl to him. Gently he picked her up; she wrapped her arms tightly around him._

 _"Let's go. Close your eyes."_

 _He didn't know if she obeyed or not, he started to carry her away from the market place._

 _"What is your name, darling?" he asked._

 _"Na-name?" she stuttered with a shaky voice._

 _"Yes, what do people call you?"_

 _"De-demon."_

 _"No, that is not your name, what else do they call you?"_

 _Abo…abo…abo…"_

 _"Abomination, no, that is not your name either. What else?"_

 _She was quiet for a moment, apparently trying to think._

 _"Gill."_

 _"You mean girl?"_

 _She nodded._

 _"Right…"_

 _Was it possible that she didn't have a name? He carried her to the rental stable; fortunately his driver had already fed the horses. He lifted her into the carriage and placed her on the seat opposite him. She looked around, but she didn't seem scared._

 _"My name is Kol," he said._

 _She looked at him intently._

 _"Kol," she repeated carefully._

 _"That's right. You need a name as well, let's see…"_

 _He observed her and pondered about his dilemma for a moment._

 _"I think I will name you… Ella. How does that sound?"_

 _She blinked her big eyes and tilted her head._

 _"Ella?" she repeated and pointed at herself._

 _"Yes, that's right."_

 _"Kol… Ella."_

 _"That's right."_

 _She tilted her head from one side to the other; her mind was processing the new information. She most definitely wasn't a typical child, but she was still a child. What she was exactly, that he didn't know yet, but he would find out. After a moment of consideration, she nodded._

 _"Kol… Ella. Kol's Ella."_

 _He chuckled and lifted her up, placing her onto his lap._

 _"Yes, I think Kol's Ella could use a bath and something to eat."_

 _He wasn't sure what he was doing, but this felt right. Something told him that she could be very useful to him. Protect. She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed, he could feel how exhausted she was. For some incomprehensible reason she wasn't afraid of him at all. That was just…strange._


	4. The brave knight

**Chapter 3**

 **The brave knight**

Rome, 3 years later

7-years-old Ella Mikaelson glanced at the black birds sitting on the branch, silently observing her. Crows, ravens, she had got used to their company, they were always somewhere near. It was because of what she was. She was special. She smiled at them and continued playing in the mud. Her nanny, Signorina Grazia, kept her distance, as always, she never came near Ella if she didn't have to. There was something about Ella that made people nervous. The only one who wasn't nervous around her was her Kol. Her brave knight, her handsome prince. He gave her everything her heart desired, all she had to do was ask.

Sometimes he complained how he had spoiled her, but still he never refused anything from her. Of course he didn't, she was his princess. She giggled and danced in the mud barefoot, she had always loved the feel the dirt against her skin. Somehow it soothed her. When she was finally satisfied, she ran inside the villa where she and Kol had lived for few months. Signorina Grazia didn't say anything about her making a mess, she just followed her silently. Ella didn't really understand why her nanny was afraid of her; she had always tried her best to be a good girl. Kol wanted her to be a lady, so she tried her best. She would have done anything for him; he was the center of her world. He had saved her from pain and suffering; he had given her a name and accepted her the way she was. To him she was beautiful and special, not an abomination or a demon.

"Kol!" she cheered while running to the parlor.

He was sitting on the sofa reading some papers, his eyebrows furrowed when he looked up and saw her.

"Young lady," he started sternly. "What do you think you are…"

She ran to him and climbed onto his lap before he managed to finish his sentence.

"Hey!" he protested. "Now look what you did, my clothes are just as muddy as yours…"

She giggled and wiped his face with her muddy sleeve. His eyes narrowed.

"You did not just do that," he snarled.

She stuck her tongue out and giggled again.

"Really? Is that how you want to play it? Well, fine by me, but I am warning you…"

She wiped his face with her other sleeve and jumped to the floor before he could get a hold of her.

"Come back here," he snarled when she ran across the room.

"Catch me if you…"

No more than a second later he was in front of her, blocking her way.

"Hey!" she protested. "You cheated!"

He grinned before scooping her up.

"Of course I did, darling. You know I like to win."

She laughed when he tickled her belly.

"Bath time, young lady," he stated and started to carry her towards her room.

"Do I have to?" she pouted.

"Yes, I will hear no complaining about this."

"But Kol…"

"What did I just say, Ella?"

She huffed and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Fine."

"That's my girl."

She smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder, she always felt safe when she was with him. She knew that he would never hurt her.

"You need a bath too," she murmured.

"Yes, I do, thanks to you."

"That was fun," she giggled.

"Is that so?" he stated menacingly and placed her on the floor. "I will show you fun."

She shouted with delight when he chased her across the long hallway, this time using his normal speed. He caught her few times and picked her up, revealing his other face. That always made her laugh; she liked it when he let her touch his sharp teeth. When the maids had finally prepared her a bath, she was exhausted, but she would have wanted to continue playing.

"You need to bathe before dinner," he stated firmly. "No buts."

She kissed his cheek before he placed her on the floor; two maids and Signorina Grazia were standing next to the bathtub. Kol said something to them in Italian, Ella didn't understand every word, but she understood enough. He told them to assist her to get ready for dinner. Ella learned more Italian words every day, just like she had learned French words when they had lived in France. She also had a teacher, many teachers actually, but she preferred learning thing by herself. Of course there were things she couldn't learn by herself and those things usually required more work, but she always tried her best to make Kol proud of her.

She had sometimes secretly broken his rules, because she had been curious. The first rule was very clear, no touching dead things. That one she had broken accidently when she had been younger and couldn't understand the consequences. Now she did understand, at least she thought that she did, but still she had broken that rule. She wasn't proud of that, but she hadn't managed to stop herself when she had found a dead puppy. There hadn't been anyone near, she had made sure of it, but one of their neighbor's sheep had died.

After she had confessed to Kol what she had done, he had explained to her that there was a balance, a life for a life. That was how her ability worked. She could also heal sick and injured people and animals, but again, the energy needed to be taken from somewhere. It was all very complicated and the witch who Kol had taken Ella to meet in France had said that she had never seen anyone like her. She was special.

The maids didn't speak much when they helped her to bathe; they were reluctant to touch her. That wasn't anything new, but Ella didn't care, she had got used to it. She didn't remember much about her life before Kol had found her, but she remembered the man who had found her from the woods. He had been a big and scary man who had had long beard and many dogs; he had lived deep in the woods with his wife. Ella didn't know who her mother and father were, but the man had told her that she had been left to die in the woods when she had been a newborn and she owed him and his wife her life.

They had treated her worse than their dogs, they hadn't even given her a name and she remembered being scared, cold and hungry all the time. She had been nothing but a servant to them until one of their dogs had died and Ella had accidently touched it. The man had been standing next to her and his wife had seen how he had died when the dog had suddenly been alive again. After that Ella had ended up in the cage. She had never been so scared in her life, people had shouted at her, threw things at her and spit on her. Then Kol had appeared and lifted her into his arms. For the first time in her life, she had felt safe. Signorina Grazia forced a smile on her face while helping Ella to get dressed; she wanted to wear her new peachy dress for the dinner. As soon as Signorina Grazia had finished brushing her hair, Ella ran to the parlor.

"Kol…" she started, but she stopped when she saw that he wasn't alone. There were two men and a woman with him; they all turned to look at Ella. She had no idea who they were, but Kol's tense look told her that he wasn't pleased to see them.

"Well, well," the other man said, he had sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. "What do we have here? She seems a bit young for you."

"Shut up, Nik," Kol huffed. "Go to your room, Ella," he added tensely.

She shook her head; she wasn't going to leave him with these people, whoever they were.

"Do not make me ask again," Kol warned.

She had no intention to obey; she marched next to him, ready to defend him. The blonde man seemed amused, while the other man, who had dark hair, and the woman were clearly confused.

"Kol?" the dark-haired man said. "Who is she?"

"That's none of your business, Elijah," Kol replied coolly and grabbed Ella's hand. She didn't resist when he led her to the hallway. "I need you to go to your room and stay there until I say otherwise. I'm serious, Ella."

She could see that he most definitely was serious, but she still didn't want to leave him unprotected.

"Who are they?" she asked.

"I will explain later," he muttered tensely. "Just do what I say."


	5. Sweet young lady

**Chapter 4**

 **Sweet young lady**

"So…" Klaus started grinning when Kol returned to the parlor. "Who might the little lady be?"

"As I said, that's none of your business," Kol replied tensely. He was silently cursing his siblings for showing up unannounced; he hadn't had time to hide Ella.

"Kol," Elijah said, using his serious scolding tone. "Tell me that you are not feeding on that child."

Kol's eyes narrowed, he glared at Elijah.

"That's nice, brother, very nice. You really think highly of me, don't you?"

"Who is she then?" Elijah demanded.

"And why is she living with you?" Rebekah added.

Kol really wanted to tell his siblings to take a hike, but that would have raised too many questions. He needed to keep Ella safe and make sure that none of his siblings, especially Nik, would find out what she was. He would never let Nik to touch his Ella. That was what she truly was, _his_ Ella. She was a delightful little creature and he couldn't deny how fond of her he had become along the years, she had brought more joy into his life than he would have ever deserved.

Yes, perhaps she was a little, or a lot, spoiled princess, but he could only blame himself for that. The damn girl knew exactly how to get whatever she wanted; all she had to do was look at him pleadingly with her big turquoise green eyes. For some incomprehensible reason she managed to turn him, a heartless Original vampire, into a pathetic softie. At first he had tried to convince himself that he was only looking after her because she would be a useful tool for him, but that was certainly a lie. He had felt the strange need to protect her since the moment he had laid eyes on her.

He couldn't explain it; there simply was something very unique about his Ella. Of course Kol had noticed how people acted around her, she seemed to make them nervous, or in some cases even scared or repulsed. He had never understood why. Obviously it had something to do with what she was; perhaps humans could sense something he couldn't. It made no difference to him, she was his special girl.

"You want to know why she is here, fine," he snorted. "I found her few years ago and I took her with me."

All his siblings stared at him disbelievingly.

"You found her?" Elijah repeated.

"Yes, she was an orphan and she would have died, so I took her with me."

"Why?" Rebekah asked, she sounded more than suspicious.

"Why not?" Kol huffed.

"Kol…" Elijah started and crossed his arms over his chest. Oh great, there was a lecture coming. "This is a human child we are talking about; she is not some kind of pet…"

"Yes, I am aware of that," Kol interrupted him coolly.

"What are you doing with her then?" Nik asked, he sounded amused. "No wait, let me guess, you found your paternal instinct."

Nik could barely finish his sentence before bursting into laughter.

"Hilarious," Kol snorted. "What I do with her is none of your business."

"She is a little girl," Rebekah snapped. "Normally I do not care about your sick games, but this time you have gone too far, I won't let you toy with a helpless child…"

"You really think I would do something like that, sister?"

"Yes," Rebekah replied simply. "Have you not told me many times how worthless humans are to you?"

Kol gritted his teeth, why couldn't he just throw his family out.

"Maybe so, but I have not hurt my… this girl."

"You expect me to believe that you took her in out of the goodness of your heart?" Rebekah snorted.

"Believe whatever you want, I cold not care less."

Rebekah took a menacing step towards Kol.

"If you think that I would just…."

"Leave him alone!" Ella's voice suddenly shouted. Oh no… She ran over to Kol and stepped in front of him protectively. Clearly she was ready to defend him, she glared at his siblings.

"Ella," Kol muttered tensely. "Go to your…"

"No," she snapped. "I am not leaving you."

Rebekah and Elijah didn't seem to know what to think, but Nik was grinning.

"Isn't she adorable?"

Ella arched her back when Nik approached her and Kol.

"Hello, sweetheart. No need to be afraid, we are not here to hurt your papa."

Ella observed him vigilantly.

"He is not my papa."

"Really?" Nik hummed softly and got down on one knee in front of Ella. "What is he then?"

"He is mine," she announced proudly. "He belongs to me and I won't let anyone to hurt him."

The corners of Nik's mouth were twitching; Kol was too tense to say anything.

"I see," Nik said, clearly suppressing a grin. "You are his protector then?"

Ella nodded determinedly.

"Yes."

"Why are you…?"

"That's enough," Kol snapped and moved Ella further away from Nik. "As you can all see, she is fine; she does not need to be rescued."

He tried his best to sound careless, but it wasn't difficult to tell that all his siblings knew now that Ella meant something to him. The thought didn't please Kol at all, especially when Elijah and Rebekah looked so stunned, they hadn't believed that Kol was capable of caring about anyone. Ella was still vigilant; she was unsure of what was going on. Kol had never brought any vampire guests into their home because he had wanted to keep Ella hidden, so he really didn't know if other vampires would react to her the same way than humans did.

"Well…" Nik broke the awkward silence. "I think this is very…sweet."

"Why don't you just shut up," Kol snapped. "Yes, I know how you all see me, but you know what, I really don't care."

"No, no, you misunderstood me, brother," Nik said and looked at Ella. There was something about his look Kol really didn't like. "It's nice to meet you, little lady, my name is Klaus."

Ella didn't say anything; she was waiting for some kind of instructions from Kol.

"They are Elijah and Rebekah, we are Kol's family," Nik continued.

"He has never mentioned you," Ella stated sharply.

Nik placed his palms on his chest, pretending to be shocked.

"He hasn't? I am truly hurt."

"I am sorry," Ella said, she looked concerned. "I did not mean…"

"Never mind him," Kol snorted and touched Ella's shoulder. "My brother is an ass."

"Now what kind of language is that to use in front of a sweet young lady?" Nik huffed disapprovingly.

"I am not a sweet young lady," Ella protested. "Kol says that I am disobedient and stubborn."

Nik grinned.

"Really? Well are you?"

"Yes," she admitted. "And I like to play in mud."

Kol noticed that all his siblings seemed amused, Elijah cleared his throat and Nik was smirking.

"There is nothing wrong with that, sweetheart," Nik said. "Who wouldn't enjoy playing in mud from time to time?"

"Do you?" Ella asked.

"Sure, why not."

Ella tilted her head and turned to look at Kol, he could tell that she thought the danger was over.

"I am hungry."

"Go to the dining room then," he replied.

"What about you?"

"I will join you later; first I will have a word with my siblings."

This time she actually obeyed without arguing, clearly she really was hungry. Kol crossed his arms after she had left, he was prepared for anything. Rebekah was the one who spoke first.

"She is a sweet child."

"Yes, she is," Kol replied, he kept his voice free from emotion.

Elijah was biting his bottom lip; he seemed to be unsure of what to think. Nik looked thoughtful as well.

"Where did you say you found her from?"

"I didn't."

Nik raised his eyebrows.

"And she is a human?"

"Yes, of course she is," Kol replied. "Why do you ask?"

Nik shrugged and smiled innocently.

"No reason. She truly seems to be a sweet little lady."


End file.
